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'It's Still Breonna Taylor For Me': Taylor Family Plans Friday Press Conference

A protester stands in Jefferson Square on Thursday in Louisville, Ky., where hundreds have been holding demonstrations in the aftermath of the grand jury's decision not to charge officers for her death.
John Minchillo
/
AP
A protester stands in Jefferson Square on Thursday in Louisville, Ky., where hundreds have been holding demonstrations in the aftermath of the grand jury's decision not to charge officers for her death.

Outraged and angry and, at times, wailing protesters renewed their cries for justice for Breonna Taylor on Wednesday, following the Kentucky grand jury's decision to not charge the police officers for killing her.

Meanwhile, the Taylor family have been much more restrained with their anguish over the killing of the 26-year-old by Louisville Metropolitan Police officers during a botched drug raid, since the decision was announced. For the most part they've remained out of the spotlight, issuing a series of brief statements on social media.

On their behalf, lawyer Ben Crump called the decision to charge only Brett Hankinson with wanton endangerment, but not with causing her death, is "outrageous" and "offensive."

Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, the other two officers involved, who sprayed a hail of bullets into Taylor's apartment, will not face any charges.

But on Thursday, Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, broke her silence in an Instagram post.

"It's still Breonna Taylor for me," Palmer wrote beside a portrait of her daughter's cherubic face.

The six-word sentence was followed by a red broken-heart emoji and the hashtag, #ThesystemfailedBreonna.

Taylor's younger sister, Juniyah Palmer conveyed her disappointment on Twitter, speaking directly to Taylor.

"They failed you, they failed me. Breonna I am so sorry ... I don't know what do do," Palmer wrote.

Taylor's cousin, Tawanna Gordon, on Wednesday told The Courier Journal that she was "mad as hell because nothing's changing."

The family announced plans to hold a news conference Friday morning in Louisville, alongside Crump and other attorneys.

"The family of Breonna Taylor will respond to Wednesday's grand jury indictment at a news conference on September 25 at 10:30 am E.T. at Louisville's Jefferson Square Park," Crump said in a statement.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.